Ending games on your terms: Thoughts

[Vern5]

I just finished a playthrough of Sid Meier's Pirates! (the 2004 remake) for the first time and I have to say that I really enjoyed it just because of the ending. You know how most games you play through for either the gameplay or certain things that happen within the story? I played out 35 years of my Pirate's adventurous life and just retiring from the game to see a rundown screen detailing my successes, my failures and the legend I left behind was a lot more satisfying than getting a killing spree or reaching any level cap.

It occurs to me that this is the first time I have ever been truly satisfied with a game's ending. I honestly do not want to play more Pirates! right now. Not because it is a bad game by any means but because I feel that starting over right now would sully my memory of my recently retired Pirate. Most times I finish a game and I'm left thinking "there's got to be more gameplay in here somewhere" and then I go looking for it, unable to quench the thirst for more smacking dudes/shooting dudes/puzzle solving.

My entire playthrough of Pirates! has to be less than 48 hours and yet I put down this game feeling more satisfied by those hours than by the hundreds upon hundreds of hours I have put into any other game.

Anyone else had this kind of satisfaction before?

 

[DaHero]

You should play Mount & Blade: Warband (Or wait for Fire and Sword)

 

[Vern5]

You should play Mount & Blade: Warband (Or wait for Fire and Sword)

The problem with Mount and Blade was that there was no reason to end the game. You could play your character for years and not feel the slow decay of age, only getting stronger with every level.

The only reason I stopped playing Pirates was because my Pirate's lifestyle of being shot and stabbed was starting to wear on him. I started having really close calls in battle (also my character screen said that he was in poor health) so I decided to retire him into a life of wealth, power and luxury.

 

[DaHero]

You should play Mount & Blade: Warband (Or wait for Fire and Sword)

The problem with Mount and Blade was that there was no reason to end the game. You could play your character for years and not feel the slow decay of age, only getting stronger with every level.

The only reason I stopped playing Pirates was because my Pirate's lifestyle of being shot and stabbed was starting to wear on him. I started having really close calls in battle (also my character screen said that he was in poor health) so I decided to retire him into a life of wealth, power and luxury.

Not true, after a few hundred days your character begins to feel the slow decay of time due to injuries (also can happen if you lose a battle)

 

[LogicNProportion]

I am going to use Metal Gear Solid 3 for an answer for the third time tonight.

It was a prequel that left little to no ties left open. They MAKE you pull the trigger on The Boss. The game just waits otherwise. It sounds so simple...but...when you get to doing it...I dunno, just something pulls at me, no matter how many times I do it.

Other than that, you get the usual, nice, meaty MGS cutscene which helps explain everything.

 

[LordLundar]

Wait a minute, Pirates! has an end? I mean I know you can retire, but you can do that at any point. As far as an actual end, I never knew that existed.